FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT COKING COAL - PAGE 2

By Terrence Edwards ULAN BATOR, April 24 (Reuters) - Mongolia might choose to go it alone on the development of the western block of its giant Tavan Tolgoi coal mine after struggling for years to find the right investors, an executive with the state-owned firm in charge of the project said. Speaking at a regular meeting of leaders from Mongolia's private sector on Monday, Graeme Hancock, the chief operating officer of Erdenes-Tavan Tolgoi, suggested that the Mongolian government would not be able to appease the diverse foreign investors hoping to invest in the project.

* U.S. thermal coal exports seen rising to 50 mln T/yr * Any rise in Indonesia export tax seen benefiting U.S. * Rail tariff flexibility helps U.S. to keep shipping By Jacqueline Cowhig and Jeanine Prezioso LONDON/NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - The United States' new status as a top world coal exporter will survive as miners struggle to stay in business by chasing foreign sales after the collapse of a domestic market decimated by a glut of cheap gas. The victims of the slump are set to be higher-cost domestic suppliers, analysts and traders say. Exports will continue to pour out of straining terminals, railroads offer ever-sharper deals for coal heading to ports, and U.S. firms are set to profit from supply uncertainty in Indonesia, the leading exporter to the booming Asian market..

* Coking coal seen more bearish than iron ore * China stimulus may not boost prices in 2013 * Anthracite, PCI prices also seen weak By Jacqueline Cowhig and Silvia Antonioli LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Prices for benchmark Japanese imports of coal for its steel and metals-making furnaces may drop by around 25 percent as the fuel nears the cheapest it has been for three years, say sources close to the final round of this year's quarterly price talks. Japanese steelmills and Australian producers are likely to settle for $160-$170 a tonne FOB Australia for the fourth quarter, a sharp drop from the previous quarter but still a premium of $10-20 above spot prices, producers and traders said.

--Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.-- By Clyde Russell LAUNCESTON, Australia, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Coking coal prices are likely to get a lift from the flooding in Australia's Queensland state, but are unlikely to scale the peaks reached the last time the world's biggest producer was waterlogged. While television images show floodwaters raging out of control across the state, it appears that, by and large, the major coal producing areas have got off lightly, compared to the devastation wreaked this time two years ago. The price of coking coal, used in steel-making, hit a record in early 2011 above $300 a tonne as Queensland's mines were flooded, rail infrastructure damaged and ports closed by a tropical cyclone.

--Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.-- By Clyde Russell LAUNCESTON, Australia, Nov 27 (Reuters) - While Asia's market for thermal coal appears structurally oversupplied, the opposite may be true for coking coal, where rising Indian steel output is likely to lead to a deficit in the next few years. China tends to be the focus of the steel market given its status as the world's largest producer, but India is likely to take over the mantle as the fastest-growing producer of the metal within the next few years.

* Iron ore, coking coal, iron ore shipping to be offered * Hopes China warehousing not too far away * New users committee to be launched, reporting to LME board By Susan Thomas and Veronica Brown LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange, under ownership of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, wants to expand its product offering beyond base metals to iron ore, coking coal and iron ore shipping, HKEx CEO Charles Li said on Friday. "This is by virtue of our proximity to China and understanding of China, but on the other hand creating a mutual venue for the supply side of the business," Li told Reuters in an interview.

Alliance: Rival steelmakers Nucor Corp. and U.S. Steel said Wednesday they have signed a tentative agreement along with Praxair Inc. to develop a technology to make steel directly from iron carbide, a raw material used in making steel. The new process is aimed at eliminating coking coal, a messy material that is expensive to produce. If the technology is successful, Nucor said steel production would become less environmentally damaging than current methods.

By Fayen Wong SHANGHAI, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Chinese coal imports will fall for the first time in five years in 2013, dropping 10 percent from the year before due to rising domestic supply and an improved transport network in the country, a Reuters poll showed. The world's top coal importer accounts for about a third of Pacific seaborne thermal trade and has a growing influence on regional markets for the commodity. Any reduction in the amount of coal it ships in would weigh on Asian prices, although they would likely be supported by stronger demand and reduced supply elsewhere in the region.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's Bakrie family has agreed in principle to pay financial compensation via its investment vehicle Long Haul Holding Ltd to coal miner PT Borneo Lumbung Energi for a $1 billion investment in Bumi Plc , Borneo's CEO said on Thursday. Indonesian tycoon Samin Tan, via his coking coal miner Borneo, pulled the Bakrie Group from the brink of default when he invested $1 billion in London-listed miner Bumi Plc in January, only to see the value of the investment crumble.

PERTH, June 25 (Reuters) - Peabody Energy Corp and Glencore Xstrata will cut around 500 mining jobs in Australia, a company official and trade publication said on Tuesday, as a global glut in coal supply pushes down prices. Peabody plans to cut around 450 contractor jobs, while Glencore Xstrata will lay off around 46 employees at its Ravensworth coal mine. Prices for thermal coal, used for power generation, have fallen over 30 percent in the last two years to around $80 per tonne, while prices for coking coal, used for steelmaking, have dropped about 40 percent in the last year to around $130 per tonne.